The characterization of the dreaded Sport-Utility Vehicle (SUV) continues with this headline from today:

Man In Wheelchair Struck, Killed By SUV In Bronx

With no disrespect intended toward the deceased, I just wanted to point out that there are several other headlines which are just as accurate as the one chosen for the article: Busy Street Kills Disabled Man or Brake, Gas Pedal conspire against Wheelchair or even the progressive Driver Hits Man in Wheelchair, Motive Unknown.

I've pointed this out in the past and I was going to let this incident slide until I found this article:

Picture your SUV as a hairy, growling beast -- something of a cross between a buffalo and something from the Star Wars movies.

A new safety campaign launched Monday by governments from all 50 states wants you to picture the big vehicles as a creature known as Esuvee.

Esuvee -- SUV monster Esuvee is the mascot of an SUV safety campaign.

The monster is meant to remind people that driving a sport utility vehicle as if it were an ordinary passenger car can be fatal, according to a media release.

In 2000, rollover crashes killed 9,873 occupants of passenger cars and light trucks, almost one-third of the total deaths of occupants of these types of vehicles. Despite these disturbing figures, more than four in 10 Americans think they are safer in an SUV than in a regular car, according to a new consumer survey.

Want to see Esuvee? Here he/she/it is:

An animated version can seen/heard at esuvee.com.

The content on the site is actually very reasonable. An SUV does handle differently than a smaller vehicle and driving safely is beneficial to everyone. They do have a higher center of gravity so higher speeds or reckless maneuvering brings an increased risk of overturning when compared with a standard car. Vehicle loading and tire sizes larger than the design specification further affects the center of gravity issue. Finally, seat belts are a great idea.

The problem I have with the campaign is the characterization of the SUV as a monster. He is ugly, hairy, dangerous and barely manageable. We would all do better to drive the smaller, safer, tamer vehicles, which could be represented by Tribbles.

Today, SUVs comprise 1 in 4 vehicles on the road. Sadly, young males are 2.5 times more likely to die in a SUV accident than the national average. Unfortunately, they fail to give us the same statistic for other vehicle types. Young males have always had a higher accident rate than any other demographic.

The fact that people sometimes die in SUVs does not make them less safe than other vehicle types; people die in all vehicle types. My opinion is that they are actually safer, at least for their occupants, than the smaller vehicles. The biggest negative regarding the mighty SUV is that they possibly endanger those in smaller, lighter vehicles, when an accident does occur. To some, the solution to that issue is to eliminate the larger, safer vehicle. I do not agree.

The good news is that with technology advances, all vehicle types are getting safer. Take a look at this:

Table 5
Persons Killed with Fatality Rates by Population, Licensed Drivers, Registered Vehicles, and Vehicle Miles Traveled, 1975-2000

Year	Fatalities	Resident Population	Fatality Rate per 100,000	Licensed Drivers	Fatality Rate per 100,000	Registered Vehicles	Fatality per Registered	Vehicle Miles Traveled	Fatality Rate per 100k VMT
1975	44525	215973	20.62	129791	34.31	126153	35.29	1328	3.4
1976	45523	218035	20.88	134036	33.96	130793	34.81	1402	3.2
1977	47878	220239	21.74	138121	34.66	134514	35.59	1467	3.3
1978	50331	222585	22.61	140844	35.74	140374	35.85	1545	3.3
1979	51093	225055	22.70	143284	35.66	144317	35.40	1529	3.3
1980	51091	227225	22.48	145295	35.16	146845	34.79	1527	3.3
1981	49301	229466	21.49	147075	33.52	149330	33.01	1555	3.2
1982	43945	231664	18.97	150234	29.25	151148	29.07	1595	2.8
1983	42589	233792	18.22	154389	27.59	153830	27.69	1653	2.6
1984	44257	235825	18.77	155424	28.48	158900	27.85	1720	2.6
1985	43825	237924	18.42	156868	27.94	166047	26.39	1775	2.5
1986	46087	240133	19.19	159486	28.90	168545	27.34	1835	2.5
1987	46390	242289	19.15	161816	28.67	172750	26.85	1921	2.4
1988	47087	244499	19.26	162854	28.91	177455	26.53	2026	2.3
1989	45582	246819	18.47	165554	27.53	181165	25.16	2096	2.2
1990	44599	249464	17.88	167015	26.70	184275	24.20	2144	2.1
1991	41508	252153	16.46	168995	24.56	186370	22.27	2172	1.9
1992	39250	255030	15.39	173125	22.67	184938	21.22	2247	1.7
1993	40150	257783	15.58	173149	23.19	188350	21.32	2296	1.7
1994	40716	260327	15.64	175403	23.21	192497	21.15	2358	1.7
1995	41817	262803	15.91	176628	23.68	197065	21.22	2423	1.7
1996	42065	265229	15.86	179539	23.43	201631	20.86	2486	1.7
1997	42013	267784	15.69	182709	22.99	203568	20.64	2562	1.6
1998	41501	270248	15.36	184980	22.44	208076	19.95	2632	1.6
1999	41717	272691	15.30	187170	22.29	212685	19.61	2691	1.6
2000	41821	281422	14.86	190625	21.94	217028	19.27	2750	1.5

As you look at this table, you can see that significant progress has been made in overall fatalities, fatalities per licensed driver and fatalities per registered vehicle. Fatalities per vehicle mile driven has dropped an incredible 54% in the last 25 years. Again, remember that in 1975, there were a negligible number of SUVs on the road. Today they make up 25% of the vehicles on the road, yet fatalities have dropped significantly over that period.

Again, I have no problem with the safety tips that this new site is presenting. I'm just tired of people constantly blaming the SUV...it is time to give it a little credit.